ARTICLES ABOUT LACROSSE BY DATE - PAGE 2

During her 13 seasons as Northwestern's women's lacrosse coach, Kelly Amonte Hiller has grown into a Chicago sports fan. After Saturday's 12-7 victory over USC at Wrigley Field, count her players as Cubs fans too. "It was awesome," junior goalkeeper Bridget Bianco said. "This was something I've never experienced before. Definitely going to be one of the best memories I have coming out of Northwestern". The players said they hope to take a group trip to Wrigley Field to take in a Cubs game.

The dynastic Northwestern women's lacrosse team will make history by playing at Wrigley Field during a season in which the Wildcats surprisingly have something in common with the ballpark's usual home team: Losing. Call it wilt by association. Of course, what constitutes losing has a significantly different meaning for the Cubs than for the Wildcats, who have won seven NCAA titles in the past nine seasons. The Cubs haven't won the baseball equivalent of a national title in what seems like nine generations.

Five senior Neuqua Valley lacrosse players who will continue the sport in college will be honored Saturday at the Ashwood Clubhouse in Naperville and all seniors will be recognized before a match against Geneva that day at Commissioner's Park. The five heading to college for the sport are: Jake Ellis and Brock Haake to Augustana College, Austin Jordan to Alma College, Mike Turner to Adrian College and Sam Sanko to Binghamton University. -Jeff Vorva, Special to the Tribune

Good start for new lacrosse head Oak Park and River Forest High School has a new head coach in lacrosse after longtime coach Dan Ganschow left the program last year. John Terretta is the new boss, and he was treated to a nice debut as the Huskies beat Hoffman Estates, 14-6, on March 22. Senior Pierce Jenkins and junior Dan Hanley each had five goals in the game, while Nick Rorres added three. The team's second effort, however, didn't go the Huskies' way as Schaumburg scored a victory over them last Thursday.

It's hard to call any Northwestern victory an upset when you consider the Wildcats have won seven NCAA championships in the last nine years. But given Northwestern's struggles this season - and No. 1 North Carolina's domination since winning the title last season - the No. 7 Wildcats' 7-5 victory against the Tar Heels on Monday at Lakeside Field sure seemed like a surprise. It's a victory coach Kelly Amonte Hiller hopes will get Northwestern (6-3) back on track. "We've been really talking about things we need to do to be successful and I think having it come to fruition in this game was huge," Amonte Hiller said.

The Northwestern women's Sunday lacrosse game against No. 1 North Carolina at Lakeside Field has been postponed because the Tar Heels had travel problems that will prevent them from getting to Evanston in time for the noon start, according to Northwestern sports information officer Scott Hammer. The game was rescheduled for 3:30 p.m. Monday. Defending NCAA champion North Carolina (11-0) is scheduled to play next against No. 2 Maryland (13-0) Friday in Chapel Hill.

It was near the end of practice Thursday morning at Lakeside Field, and the Northwestern women's lacrosse team was struggling through 100-yard wind sprints into a frigid, blowing rain. "You're running next to North Carolina," yelled assistant coach Danielle Spencer, a former Wildcats All-American. "Beat them. " A victory in Sunday's noon game against the top-ranked Tar Heels would ease the chill over the first season in Kelly Amonte Hiller's 13 years as coach in which the word "struggling" can be applied to a Northwestern program she built from scratch into a dynasty.

The Northwestern women's lacrosse team was involved in a second straight streak-breaking game Sunday. Once again, what snapped was a long string of Wildcat victories. This time, Northwestern lost to Ohio State for the first time in 11 games dating to 2003. Although the Buckeyes scored just once in the final 24 minutes, 30 seconds of regulation play, they went on to win 11-10 in overtime Sunday at Columbus in the American Lacrosse Conference opener for both teams. Northwestern, No. 4 in last week's rankings, had lost 9-8 to Notre Dame Wednesday. That was the first Irish win over the Wildcats in 15 games dating to 2004.

Name: Rebecca Whitehead Age/year in school: 17/Senior School: Schaumburg Sport: Lacrosse What is your favorite thing about your sport? The thrill of making that save just in time to take the win. The rush of making an extra long clear to the girl who then scores. What was your worst sports moment? How did you recover? I let in a goal with a minute left that let the other team take the lead. I stood strong and refused to let anything else go in. What's your favorite pump-up song before a game?

The weather has forced the Northwestern women's lacrosse team to move a second straight game out of Evanston to an indoor facility. The No. 4 Wildcats (3-0) will meet No. 12 Notre Dame (2-2) at the Lake Barrington Field House Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. Northwestern played its home opener there Tuesday, beating Marquette 20-5. After the Notre Dame game, the Wildcats have four straight on the road before returning to Evanston (presumably) March 30 to meet top-ranked North Carolina, the reigning NCAA champion.